After putting away the Tree Gum, Ying Li looked at Xiang Ye. “You might feel a bit unwell later. If you feel bad, just lie down for a while. If you get hungry, eat more.”
His own body was very good, so he hadn’t had any adverse reactions after eating the Red Ginger. But Xiang Ye’s body wasn’t very good; after eating the Red Ginger, he might feel some discomfort.
Repairing the body required energy, and Xiang Ye’s appetite might also increase.
Thinking this, Ying Li ordered one hundred boxes of nutrient paste on his Communication Terminal and had it delivered.
After placing the order, he spoke again. “I’m going to shower. Oh, you don’t need to cook. It’s too much trouble. I’ll just eat some nutrient paste.”
He went to shower after saying this.
Although Sentinels who went out hunting cleaned themselves at the Surface Exchange before entering the city, that kind of cleaning wasn’t thorough.
He needed a good shower now.
The Underground City lacked water resources. The showerhead didn’t spray a stream of water but extremely fine, mist-like droplets.
Ying Li held the showerhead and sprayed himself. Once he was wet, he applied Shower Gel and rubbed it in.
Then, he used a non-absorbent rubber scraper to wipe off the Shower Gel from his body before spraying again.
This kind of Shower Gel could stay on the skin’s surface. Some people, after the second spray and scraping off the water, considered their shower done. Total water usage didn’t exceed 500 milliliters.
Ying Li, however, sprayed himself a bit more water and cleaned himself thoroughly.
The education people in the Upper City District received from childhood was that water resources were scarce and water must be conserved.
But actually, water could be recycled, and purified surface water could also be used. The Underground City wasn’t truly short of water. Those from major families in the Central District swam in swimming pools and even soaked in bathtubs at home.
As for the Upper City District? To save water and for easier cleaning, people shaved their heads completely bald.
Ying Li showered very quickly, cleaning himself in just ten minutes.
When he came out and looked, Xiang Ye had already prepared two dishes.
Frying meat and fungi in lard, sprinkling seasoning and arranging it on a plate. Then adding water to the pan used for frying the meat and throwing in mushrooms to make soup. One dish and one soup were ready just like that.
“Your cooking speed is incredible!” Ying Li exclaimed.
The corners of Xiang Ye’s mouth curved upward slightly.
Ying Li had left some meat and fungi for him, portioned out by day.
First thing in the morning, he would process the day’s ingredients but wouldn’t eat them. Only after processing the second batch of ingredients the next day would he eat the previous day’s portion.
This way, he could quickly make two dishes whenever Ying Li returned.
“Xiang Ye, I’ll sleep after eating. You rest well too, and eat plenty,” Ying Li said while eating, quickly finishing the food in front of him.
After finishing, without delay, he returned to the bedroom and went to sleep.
Ying Li slept very comfortably. As for Xiang Ye, he rubbed his stomach, a little bewildered.
Ying Li had said his body would feel unwell after eating that sour thing. So he kept waiting for the discomfort to arrive.
But as he waited and waited, besides a slight bloating pain in his stomach, he felt nothing else.
This bloating pain was so minor, if he didn’t pay very careful attention, he couldn’t even feel it.
The pain he used to feel from hunger, from his stomach hurting—that hurt far worse than this!
When he first arrived at Ying Li’s home, he had overeaten and his stomach and intestines didn’t adapt. That stomach pain was also much worse than now.
What was this little pain?
Xiang Ye opened the videos Ying Li had sent him and followed along, doing exercises that wouldn’t make noise.
He had been persisting with exercises recently, and his muscles were repeatedly strained. So when he started exercising and felt the soreness from his muscles, he completely stopped noticing the pain in his stomach.
After alternating exercise and rest for half an hour, Xiang Ye, just as Ying Li predicted, felt hungry.
Since Ying Li had told him to eat, he did.
Xiang Ye ate three boxes of nutrient paste, then felt a bit tired.
Following Ying Li’s instructions, he lay down to sleep. He woke up after two hours and found he was hungry again.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiang Ye ate another three boxes of nutrient paste, went to the bathroom, and continued sleeping.
This time, Xiang Ye slept hazily for an hour before waking.
Then, he found that his muscles, which had been constantly aching, were no longer sore at all.
He tried moving the furniture at home and also found his strength had increased somewhat!
The thing Ying Li gave him was indeed good for his body.
Such a thing must be very precious. How could Ying Li just give it to him?
Even if Ying Li didn’t eat it himself, he should have sold it for money.
Xiang Ye was a bit conflicted. After checking the time, he started cooking.
Last time Ying Li returned from outside the city, he had slept for six hours straight. It would probably be similar this time. He planned to prepare some food in advance so Ying Li could eat as soon as he woke up.
Ying Li did indeed wake up after sleeping for six hours, feeling refreshed.
As soon as he came out, he smelled the aroma of food.
Xiang Ye was truly a very good roommate. He cared about him, trusted him, and even made delicious meals for him.
Ying Li asked Xiang Ye, who was bringing dishes out from the kitchen, “Did you feel any discomfort earlier?”
Xiang Ye replied, “No discomfort, just very hungry. I ate a lot of nutrient paste and slept for a while. Now my muscles aren’t sore at all; I feel especially comfortable.”
Nowadays, much knowledge was monopolized. Information regarding Red Ginger and Tree Gum simply couldn’t be found online.
Ying Li had only learned about some Heavenly Treasures after great effort.
As far as he knew, Sentinels didn’t feel unwell from eating Red Ginger, but Guides and ordinary people would feel some discomfort, which is why he warned Xiang Ye.
Since Xiang Ye didn’t feel discomfort, the information he had received must have been inaccurate.
Ying Li didn’t dwell on it. He told Xiang Ye to eat with him and piled food onto Xiang Ye’s plate, telling him to eat more.
As they were eating, Xiang Ye’s Communication Terminal rang.
Looking at the information on his terminal, Xiang Ye was pleasantly surprised. “Mr. Ying, my Poverty Subsidy application has been approved! From now on, I can get two boxes of nutrient paste and a bottle of water every day!”
His health was poor, he couldn’t find a suitable job, so after coming of age, he applied for the poverty subsidy.
But this application had been submitted for months without approval.
After being brought home by Ying Li, he had nearly forgotten about it. He hadn’t expected it to suddenly be approved now.
Was it because his account hadn’t had any Credit Point income recently?
Regardless, getting two boxes of nutrient paste was always a good thing. “Mr. Ying, you can give me two fewer boxes of nutrient paste from now on!”
Ying Li finally understood how Xiang Ye had survived in his past life. At the same time, he felt somewhat exasperated—he truly didn’t lack two boxes of nutrient paste.
But he still said, “If you’re hungry, just eat the nutrient paste I have here; no need to save. Only by eating more can you awaken and help me out.”
Xiang Ye felt Ying Li was just saying this to console him.
Ying Li was so strong. Even if he awakened as a Sentinel, he wouldn’t be able to help Ying Li.
But Ying Li was looking forward to his awakening, and he didn’t want to disappoint Ying Li.
He would definitely exercise more and eat well.
Ying Li finished eating, then went back to his room to sleep.
His body had recovered to peak condition and didn’t require long sleep. So he woke up very early the next day.
Upon waking, Ying Li composed a message, copied it, and sent it to several of his classmates.
He had no plans to move to the Central District for the time being. He’d be living in the Upper City District for quite a while, so the members of his hunting team naturally also had to be found in the Upper City District.
Ying Li planned to recruit some young C-Rank Sentinels.
D-Rank Sentinels were too low in rank and generally didn’t go hunting, working at the Surface Exchange instead.
But many C-Rank Sentinels did go hunting. After all, hunting Mutant Beasts earned quite a bit of money and offered a chance to change their fates.
Over the next half month, Ying Li stayed in the city the whole time, interacting with many young C-Rank Sentinels in the Upper City District, and signed contracts with four of them.
When Teacher Yan found out about this, he sought Ying Li out once, advising him to recruit some older Sentinels.
Teacher Yan felt older Sentinels were experienced and could help them avoid certain risks.
But Ying Li didn’t do so. For one, he didn’t lack experience. For another… he knew too much and was strong. Young Sentinels could be fooled by him, but older Sentinels might notice something unusual about him.
The size of hunting teams varied. The Yu Family’s hunting team was very large; every time they left the city, they needed several vehicles. The Yu Family member accompanying the team would even ride in a very comfortable RV.
While they hunted, that Yu Family member stayed in the vehicle. Once the hunting was finished, he would immediately inspect their haul.
The hunting teams of the Upper City District were different; they were generally smaller in number.
Many hunting teams in the Upper City District didn’t even own a vehicle and rented one. To save money, they only rented one vehicle.
Too many people wouldn’t fit—that just wouldn’t do!
This was another consideration for Ying Li in finding four team members.
He planned that on future trips outside, he’d rent a four-seat truck, plus his motorcycle. That would be perfect for five people.
Actually, the truck bed could also carry people, but sitting there was uncomfortable. And he didn’t want too many team members.
Once he had gathered his crew, Ying Li prepared to leave the city.
Before leaving the city, he hefted Xiang Ye again.
Xiang Ye had been getting the poverty subsidy from the Underground City, but he hadn’t eaten any less of Ying Li’s food.
During this time, Xiang Ye had to eat twelve boxes of nutrient paste every day—eating even more than Ying Li did!
Ying Li couldn’t figure out how Xiang Ye’s small body managed to consume so much.
One box of nutrient paste was five hundred grams. That meant Xiang Ye was eating six kilograms of nutrient paste alone each day. Add other foods… Xiang Ye could gain three or four jin after a meal. But his digestion was fast, so his weight would soon drop again.
Even so, his weight had increased very rapidly. Now, he was already over seventy jin.
Although a few of those jin were the weight of the food Xiang Ye had just eaten, his actual body weight had to be at least seventy jin.
Having gained twenty jin, Xiang Ye now had a little flesh on his face, and his legs and arms were a bit thicker. Although he was still on the lean side, his whole person no longer looked like a skeleton. Instead, he resembled a teenager going through a growth spurt.
And he had indeed shot up.
In just the one month since Ying Li brought him home, he was somehow two centimeters taller!
Ying Li felt an immense sense of accomplishment and reached out to pinch the flesh on Xiang Ye’s face.
Once Xiang Ye put on a bit more weight, Wu Nian wouldn’t recognize him anymore. He would never again have to worry about Wu Nian reporting Xiang Ye.
Speaking of which, it was rather ironic. In his last life, the wanted poster for Xiang Ye only had Xiang Ye’s photo, not his name.
Xiang Ye had heavily slapped the faces of those major families in the Underground City. They worried that if Xiang Ye’s story spread, it would cause unrest among the people underground and destabilize their rule. So they concealed Xiang Ye’s past and blocked information about him.
Therefore, even if Wu Nian remembered the wanted Dark Guide, he didn’t know Xiang Ye’s name or history.
Wu Nian only knew that a terrifying-looking Dark Guide had killed many people in the Central District.
